NATO Parliamentarians elect new president

From 12 to 16 November 2010, the Polish Parliament hosted the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's (PA’s) 56th Annual Session in Warsaw. The session brought together some 260 parliamentarians from the 28 NATO member countries, delegates from partner countries and observers to discuss security challenges and elect a new President.

Throughout the five-day meeting, the parliamentarians examined a range of common global security concerns and adopted the committee reports discussed during the PA’s Spring Session in Riga, Latvia.

The Assembly issued resolutions on:

promoting women, peace and security;

the situation in Georgia;

transition in Afghanistan;

building a more stable and prosperous international order;

the increasing importance of NATO’s partnerships; and

partnering with Russia on weapons of mass destruction security and missile defence.

During the event’s plenary session, German MP Karl A. Lamers was elected by acclamation as the Assembly’s new President, succeeding US Congressman John Tanner.

Mr Lamers, a leading Member of the Defence Committee of the German Bundestag, has been serving at the Assembly since 1998. He undertook various responsibilities within the Political Committee, which he chaired from 2008 until now. Head of the German Delegation to the NATO PA since 2006, he also served as NATO PA vice-President from 2006 to 2008.

“Dialogue, co-operation and communication” will be the guiding principles of his presidency, Mr Lamers told the parliamentarians. He will represent the NATO Parliamentary Assembly at the forthcoming NATO Lisbon summit.

Bringing together members of parliaments from throughout the Alliance, the NATO PA helps to build parliamentary and public consensus in support of NATO’s policies. It increases transparency and raises parliamentary awareness and understanding of key security issues.